The present invention relates to semiconductor packaging in general and, more particularly, to a lead frame assembly for increasing metallic lead count in a thin small outline semiconductor package such as TSOP, MSOP, and other micro-series packages.
Small outline packaging is well known in the art of micro series packages. Typical of the art are the TSOP 5 and TSOP 8 packages. The TSOP 5 package has a greater die-mounting pad than the TSOP 8 package but is only available with five external conductive leads. This limits the complexity and functionality of the semiconductor device that can be encapsulated within the package.
The TSOP 8 package can have eight isolated conductive leads for an 8 pin I/O count but has a restrictive die-mounting portion. This smaller die-mounting portion is typically too small to accommodate an eight pin semiconductor device. This packaging may result in higher/bigger packaging and required packaging space.
Accordingly, a need exists for a small outline package, which maintains the larger die-mounting area such as the TSOP 5 micro-series package while having superior lead count as available in the small outline micro-series package. In addition, the additional lead count should not cause an increase in the minimal packaging outline.